In today’s competitive SEO landscape, it’s not always enough for your brand to reach the front page of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). Today, the world’s most ambitious SEOs are targeting ‘position zero’ by optimizing for zero-click searches.

Google’s frenzied rate of innovation means that SEO specialists have long been forced to rewrite the rules to find prominence with the world’s most popular search engine. However, the arrival of zero-click search results has created a challenge that flies in the face of modern optimization tactics.

The rewards are clear. Become selected by Google as a zero-click result and appear at the very top of relevant user queries as a snippet. But how do SEOs get there? And what can be done to charm Google’s algorithms into selecting their content?

Let’s take a deeper look at how specialists can thrive in the age of zero-click searches by optimizing their content to take Google’s most coveted SERP position.

What is Zero-Click Search?

How time changes. As recently as the 2010s, the strategy for any SEO was clear: reach the #1 position on Google. Now, zero-click results have thrown traditional SERPs in the air. Google has rejigged its results pages to offer users answers without the need for further clicks.

These responses can come as snippets of text, quick answers, or data presented in table formats in a way that’s designed to remove the need for further clicks to access the desired information.

This may seem problematic for brands looking to generate traffic through SERPs, but reaching position zero is a prime piece of real estate positions websites perfectly for click-throughs.

Single Grain data suggests that zero-click search results now occupy around 25.6% of all Google searches. This means that around a quarter of every query run through Google will display an instant answer in ‘position zero’.

Zero-click search results can come in many different forms, including:

• Featured Snippets: This format offers summary previews of webpage content in a highlighted box at the very top of SERPs. They generally include a title, excerpt, and hyperlink leading to the page itself.
• Knowledge Panels: These take the form of information-rich boxes that pull essential data, facts, stats, and definitions to display to users. The data can be aggregated from different trusted sources related to the topic and can include images, social media profiles, and links to websites.
• Quick Answers: For simple questions, Google can present a concise answer box that directly answers the question rather than displaying any further contextual information or backlinks.
• Site Links: These links are listed as internal links or related topics from a site displayed directly in the SERPs. This allows users to navigate the website without having to click through.

Other formats can include video carousels, featured images, audio previews, review data, sports scores, product listings, calculators, and plenty of other instant results.

For SEO specialists, ranking for zero-click searches is a challenge, but ranking in a way that can leverage those all-important click-through rates (CTRs) can be another proposition altogether. With some zero-click results presented as simple answers, getting the right blend of SEO and lead generation can be a juggling act. So let’s explore how to optimize content for position zero:

1.  Build Content That Answers Questions

 

All content should aim to answer questions and enlighten readers, but in the age of zero-click search results, SEOs need to take this a little more literally than before.

Featured snippets mean that passages of text can be utilized by Google to display as a position zero search result, and it’s important to adapt content to keep answers more concise.

This throws the rule book out of the window in terms of what constitutes high SERP content. It’s widely recognized that long-form content performs the best when it comes to ranking on Google, with 2,250 to 2,500-word articles generally acting as the sweet spot for content length.

However, featured snippets can be less than 100 words long and still rank at the very top of Google’s results.

So, how can SEOs utilize the Q&A demands of reaching position zero with their content? The answer lies in actively looking to answer questions within the body of the text.

Look to create headings that directly address a key question and then immediately answer it concisely before adding more context in subsequent paragraphs. This helps Google’s crawlers to directly identify a question and answer that can be repurposed.

Another great approach is to directly address relevant frequently asked questions in a dedicated website FAQ section. This can be added in addition to a blog post or on-site content but strategically lists common questions and answers that can be utilized by Google. Just remember to avoid making things too succinct because this could risk the search engine positioning it as a simple unlinked answer rather than a snippet.

2.  Optimize Keywords for Clicks

It’s one thing adapting content to reach Google’s coveted position zero, but it’s not going to be worth much if nobody’s searching for the answers on offer.

With this in mind, it’s worth identifying the right keywords and queries that users are searching for with Google.

Here, a little keyword analysis can be useful. There are plenty of tools available like Google Search Console and SimilarWeb’s excellent Keyword Analysis feature which specializes in identifying zero-click trends to help provide actionable insights here.

Another great resource is Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer, which can actively identify the key questions being queried in Google while allocating a ‘keyword difficulty’ rating that assesses how hard it would be to rank in the top 10 organic search results for the term.

Using this feature, it’s possible to find plenty of relevant terms to rank for and weave them into content that’s more likely to be favorably positioned on Google’s SERPs and as zero-click answers.

3.  Audit Existing Content for Zero-Click

This is perhaps the easiest way to optimize for zero-click results. For many SEOs, it’s likely that there’s a wide range of existing content that’s ripe for adapting into zero-click opportunities.

By looking back through existing pages and content and adapting them to rank for high-value, low-cost keywords, it’s possible to turn an old and underappreciated article into an evergreen source of zero-click traffic.

Adapting existing web pages and blog posts to become zero-click friendly doesn’t have to involve reinventing the wheel, and can be as simple as adding a FAQ section at the foot of the content, or revizing headings to specifically address a relevant and commonly asked question on Google.

As a quick trick, try running existing headings for old content on Google and see how the search engine’s autocomplete feature anticipates it as it’s being typed–this can offer an insight into how the topic is being converted into queries.

4.  Remember to Cater to Mobile

Not only do 77.2% of all mobile searches result in zero-click results, the chances are that smartphone users will be looking for fast answers on-the-go and will be less inclined to scroll further.

This serves as an opportunity for SEOs–but only if the links that users can click are mobile-friendly.

Mobile-friendly websites are always recommended, but many SEO specialists can neglect catering to smartphone users because they generally create and publish content using desktops and treat mobile optimization as an afterthought.

Failing to optimize for mobile can be fatal for zero-search content because slower loading times will increase bouncebacks and cause Google’s crawlers to view pages less favorably.

With this in mind, always look to compress images, avoid cramming visual effects and videos into content, and look to adopt a more flexible layout and typeface that fits different ratios.

Remembering the True Value of Zero-Click

Zero-click search results have fundamentally changed the game in search engine optimization. Rich, long-form content may still be king, but every SEO specialist must now cater to adding those all-important actionable snippets within the body of their text to reach position zero.

The very topic of position zero may also be divisive. After all, what use is ranking for a zero-click result if its purpose is to present information to users without the need for navigating further?

While zero-click results may not always result in a website visit, they can still work wonders in boosting brand visibility and referral traffic. By targeting featured snippets, SEOs can combine insight with website links effectively to achieve the best of both worlds.

In modern SEO, ranking on the front page of Google is no longer enough. We’re living in the age of position zero, and there’s no time to waste when optimizing to appear above the fold on the biggest website in the world.